We saw last time
that the operation of the Holy Spirit is not
limited to Pentecost but is active from creation and will continue
until the end. We saw also that the working of the Holy Spirit is not
always spectacular or instantaneous. We saw that Jesus is our model and
that Jesus was Spirit-led. He was conceived by the power
of the Holy Spirit at the Annunciation and led his entire life under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit. As followers of Jesus we should be Spirit-led
Christians. Just how does this happen?

The Holy Spirit
operates in the Church ordinarily through the Sacraments,
initially and fundamentally through the Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism,
Confirmation and Eucharist. In Baptism we receive the Holy Spirit and
the gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom and understanding,
counsel and fortitude, knowledge and piety and the fear of the Lord. Like
giant TV dish antennae these gifts make us more receptive
to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit.

Not only the mighty
winds of Pentecost but the gentle breezes of these inspirations are constantly
blowing. These inspirations, these illuminations of the intellect and
impetus of the will, are like rain. The same rain that makes cabbages
grow also makes roses grow. These gifts are given primarily
for the up building of the individual and secondarily
for the up building of the Church. The more there are of healthy cells
in the body the healthier the body.

The Holy Spirit operates
in a more extraordinary manner in the charismatic
gifts of prophecy, healing, interpretation, discernment and tongues. These
gifts are primarily for the up building of the Church.
Secondarily they also assist the up building of the individual. We are
grateful for these charismatic gifts and we should be open and receptive
of them. I remember I was invited by a charismatic friend to make what
is called the “Baptism of the Spirit” seminar.”
It lasts about six weeks. I started it simply out of curiosity to find
out what it was all about but was glad I did at the end. It is not another
Baptism. It is simply an attempt to stir up the graces and gifts we already
have from Baptism.

In regard to these
charismatic gifts we should heed the advice of St. Paul, “Do not
quench the Spirit, test everything,
hold fast to that which is good.” In other words, we should avoid
two extremes. First, “Do not quench the Spirit.” That is,
do not a priori write it off as many people do. On the other hand, “Test
everything, hold fast to that which is good.” That is, do not be
gullible. We are all subject to illusions and delusions. And there is
another spirit, often disguised as an angel of light,
waiting and eager to deceive us.

How do you test them?
The first test is to ask yourself what is your attitude in regard to the
Church? These gifts are given for the up building of the Church. The Holy
Spirit is the principle of life of the Church and as the Spirit of truth
it cannot contradict itself. Secondly, “By their fruits you will
know them.” Do they help you to grow in the fruits
of the Holy Spirit: love, peace, joy, patience and self control? Thirdly
are you growing in humility and simplicity? Mary was
the greatest charismatic; she was the very spouse of
the Holy Spirit, the model of humility and simplicity.

St. Paul mentions
all of these gifts in his first letter to the Corinthians. (1Cor.12,13.)
It will be well to read these two chapters today. And then he says, “But
I will show you a still more excellent way…the greatest of these
is love.” This reminds us of St. Teresa, the Little Flower. She
wanted to do great things for God, to be a martyr. She was reading this
Epistle and found she didn’t have any of these gifts and finally
at the end she read, “But I will show you a still more excellent
way…the greatest of these is love.”
Here she found what she was looking for. Here was something she could
do, she could love and she did and she still does. The Holy Spirit gives
us two things: an intimate relationship with Jesus and the power to witness
to Jesus.

What we have been
talking about is simply what we mean by the spiritual life. The
spiritual life means the life of the Spirit in us; it
means that we are Spirit-led just as Jesus was. St. Paul tells us that
our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and that no one can say Jesus
is Lord without the Holy Spirit and when we cannot pray the Holy Spirit
prays in us and for us. Isn’t it amazing that we can talk so often
about spirituality and the spiritual life and forget all about the Holy
Spirit?

At the opening of
the Second Vatican Council Pope John XXIII said that the Church is
always in need of reformation and he prayed for a new
Pentecost. Since then the Church has been experiencing the presence and
the power of the Holy Spirit in a new and exciting way. We are realizing
more and more that the experience of love, joy, peace and the power of
the Holy Spirit is not the hallmark of the mystic but the birthright
of the baptized.